Bag structure, and particularly the closure therefor



Feb. 13, 1951 J. E. sNYDER 2,541,574'

BAG STRUCTURE, AND PARTcuLARLY THE cLosuRE mEREFoR Filed Jan. 24, 1947 IN VEN TOR. l .7i/vf: T5/'waff BY Walk,

A rr V Patented Feb. 13, 1951 I lUNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE BAG STRUCTURE, AND PARTICULARLY THE CLOSURE THEREFOR James E. Snyder, Akron, Ohio, assgnor to Wingfoot Corporation, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application January 24, 1947, Serial No. 723,946

1 claim. l

A mouth of the bag together. Sometimes a narrow seal is employed, and at other times it is wider. It has recently been proposed to form a seal between two plies of such film material by means of a heated perforating instrument which simultaneously perforates the two plies and seals them together a short distance back from the edge of each of the perforations. The, closure of this invention combines both types of seals.

The chief advantage of the. perforated seal is that a bag or other package formed with this seal may be easily opened by tearing along the perforations. Such a seal, therefore, has distinct advantages when used with a film such as rubber hydrochloride lm, which is torn only with dimculty. A bag of such lm which is either closed with the perforated seal or in which the perforated seal is made at any convenient place near the edge of the bag may easily be opened by tearing along the perforations. The use of the perforated seal in the closure of this invention greatly facilitates opening the bag when the occasion arises.

The perforated seal lacks strength. It gives way when placed under a strain. For example, if a bag of peanuts or candy or the like is sealed across the open end with the perforated seal, and the bag is then squeezed or otherwise pressed so that its contents are forced against the perforations, seals around the perforations are apt to give way. The seal is, therefore, not satisfactory for closing a bag because a bag closed with it is apt to be opened accidentally. It is the object of this invention to prevent such accidental opening by relieving the strain or most of the strain which may be placed on the seals at the perforations, by suitable placement of an ordinary heatseal.

A bag of rubber hydrochloride film which is closed with an ordinary heat seal is diflicult to open because of the difficulty of tearing the rubber hydrochloride film. If a perforated seal is combined with the ordinary seal, the bag may be opened by tearing along the perforations. By closing the mouth of the bag with an ordinary heat-seal and using the perforated seal farther from the mouth ofthe bag than they ordinary seal, the perforations provide means for easily opening the bag. It is pointed out above, however, that unless these perforations4 are protected in some way from any strain which may tend to force them open, the bag may be accidentally opened. This invention relates to bags with closures which combine an ordinary seal and the perforated seal and yet protect the perforated seal from ordinary strains. This protection is afforded by an ordinary seal which is located farther from the mouth of the bag than all or most of the perforated seal.

The invention will be further described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l illustrates one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 illustrates equipment with which the seal of Fig. 1 may be made and is a cross section through such equipment on a line corresponding to the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Figs. 3', 4, and 5 illustrate modied forms of bag closures which combine the regular seal with a perforated seal.

In Fig. l the bag 5 is made of rubber hydrochloride lm or other heat-scalable fim. The bag is made in any usual way as by folding a single sheet and sealing across two of the open edges, or by butt-sealing three sides of two rectangular sheets, or by making the bag from a tube, etc. The heat-sealed area is stippled and includes the two rectangular heat-seals 5 andthe V-shaped seal 1. The V-shaped heat-seal blends with the larger heat-sealed areas 6 on each side of it in the narrow areas 8. Along the edges of the V and outside the heat-sealed area 1 are the perforations 9. These perforations are made with a hot perforating implement, and the two plies of film are sealed together from the edge of each of the perforations for a short distance. The heat-seals whichA extend outward from the perforations may blend with the heat-sealed area 1, but it is important that the heat-seals on theI opposite side of the perforations be easily broken.

Fig. 2 'is -a cross section through the heat-scaling means which may be employed for making such a heat-seal. This heat-sealing means comprises the cold lower plate I5 and the heated upper plate I6. The portions of the two plates which are to be brought together to form a heatseal are raised, the areas 6a and 6b forming the larger heat-sealed areas 6, and the smaller surfaces Ia and 'Ib forming the triangular heatsealed area 1. The bag i is interposed between 3 the plates. The pin-point projections i8 which are attached to the uppervheated plate I6 form the perforations 9. y These projections, after pene..

trating the nlm, are accommodated in the openings shown in the lower plate.

To form the heat-seau shown in Fig. 1, the twol lplates I and I6 are pressed together. The tem- When it is desired to open the bag 5, it is only necessary to tear along the perforated line orto apply pressure to the pointed end of the V-shaped area 'I and thus sever the two lms along the lines of the periorations 9. Thus, the heat-sealed area 'i is easily removed from the bag. The perforations extend through the narrow areas 8 so that there is no difculty about tearing through them. The width of the base of the triangular area l may be varied to provide openings in the bag of diierent Widths. Thus, the opening may easily be made wide enough for the dispensing of peanuts or other product contained within the bag. The heat-sealed areas are deep enough so that any pressure applied to the peanuts inthe bag will be largely taken up by these heat-sealed areas, and little, if any, will be applied to the perforations 9. The height lof the triangular heat-sealed area 'I' is adjusted so that the perforations 9 are within the opening between the two heatsealed areas 6;

The closures applied to the bags and 33 of Figs. 3 and 4 are of quite similar construction. In the bag 20 the heat-seal 2| is narrow across the entire top of the bag; whereas the heat-seal 3l of the bag is relatively wide across most of the top of the bag. In both bags there is an area 22 and 32, respectively, which is narrow and sealed across the top. These two areas are perforated by the perforations 23 and` 33,'respectively. These perforations are made with a ,heated element which seals the films together around the individual openings simultaneously with theperforation of the films. The bags are easily opened ,is large, the perforations may terminate farther from the mouth of the bag. Thus, the bag will by tearing along these perforations. The perforations extend through the narrow heat-seals 24 and 34 which close the openings 22 and 32, respectively, so that when the bags are torn along the perforations, the corner of each is opened. This provides for dispensing peanuts or the like through the opening. The heat-sealed portions 2| and 3 I, the bottoms of which are located some little distance from the ends of the bag, protect the perforations from pressure which may be applied by the peanuts or the like in the bag.

The location of the seals in bags such as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is subject to some variation. The area between the perforations and the corner of the bag must be large enough to give a thumbhold for tearing. If the unsealed area or channel between the right-hand edge of the bag and the sealed area 2I or 3l, respectively, is relatively wide or the contents of the bag are of relatively small particle size, the juncture of the line of perforations and the edge of the bag should be nearer the mouth of the bag. On the other hand, if the channel is narrow or the particle size be designed with due consideration being givento the material to be packaged in it, and the perforations will be so located as to prevent accidental opening.

Fig. 5 shows a further modification of a bag closure. Here the bag 40 is heat-sealed with a narrow heat-seal 4I across'the top. Just below this is the'perforated seal 42 which extends across the entire widthof the bag. Spaced just below this is the heat-seal 43 which is of the regular type. It will be noted that the end of this heatseal 43 is Aspaced some distance from each edge of the bag so that at each edge there is a narrow channel which is not sealed. If Vthis bag is filled with peanuts or the like, it may be opened easily by tearing along the perforated line 42.

nels 44. A minor modification of this bag would provide a vchannel at only yone edge of the bag instead of two, and this might be more convenient for dispensing a product such as peanuts. In'a further modication the perforations will not extend across the entire bag but only across the channel or channels 44, depending upon whether one or two channels are used. The heatseal 43 which is located a greater distance from the mouth of the bag than the perforated seal 42 takes up most of the strain which results from the application of pressure to the contents of the bag. The peanuts or the like will not be apt to enter the channels 4e when pressure is applied to the bags before the bagsare opened, or any peanuts or the like which enter these channels will not carry to the perforations any substantial portion of the pressure which is applied to the contents of the bag. Substantially all of this pressure will be taken up by the heat-seal 43.

Thus, a bag may be sealed with an ordinary heat-seal, and. this seal may be combined with a perforated seal to facilitate the opening of the bag. According to this invention this perforated seal is protected from pressure applied to the contents of the bag by an'ordinary heat-seal which is located farther from the mouth of the bag thanal1 or most of the perforated seal.

What I claim is:

A bag of rubber hydrochloride lm sealed across the mouth, the two pli-s of lrn which form the bag also being sealed a short dista-nce in from the mouth by a separate seal which does not extend across the bag but leaves an unsealed channel at each edge of the bag and between the two seals a line of perforations extending from one edge of the bag to the other, the two films being sealed together around each perforation.

JAMES E. SNYDER.Y

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 673,224 Rosenberg Apr. 30, 1901 1,977,759 Ford Oct. 23, 1934 2,293,952 Stroop Aug. 25, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 10,490 Great Britain Apr. 27, 1897 The peanuts may then be dispensed through the chan- 

